First time video conferencing of HD video at high bit rate on a routed network between personal computers 1,700 miles apart

AJA today announced that its XENA HD card was used in the first demonstration of uncompressed 1080i video conferencing between two remote locations 1,700 miles apart during the Internet2 Fall Member Meeting. A XENA HD card was on each end of the system, installed in personal computers running Windows(R) platform for both HD input and output. The ResearchChannel demonstrated the video streaming on a shared OC48 over the Abilene Network during the Meeting on September 30 in Austin, Texas, and connected with participants at the University of Washington (UW) in Seattle, Washington. This demo was in preparation for SC04 in November, where ResearchChannel will have a dedicated 10Gbps circuit.

"XENA HD is a powerful and fast card; we are proud that ResearchChannel selected it to be an integral part of their new technology," said John Abt, president of AJA Video Systems. "AJA is known for professional video products designed for reliability and leading edge technology. We look forward to the future of uncompressed HD video conferencing and what it means for communications around the world."

During the Meeting, participants from UW, a member of the ResearchChannel, demonstrated the collaborative technology in development that makes high quality, low latency interactive videoconferencing possible at High Definition Television quality over IP networks. Attendees at each end were able to see and speak to each other as their images and voices streamed at a sustained data rate of 1.5 Gbps.

"We are very excited about the advancement of interactive applications," said Michael Wellings, director of engineering for the ResearchChannel. "The demonstration showed us the future of videoconferencing which is high speed, real-time, HD communications. AJA's XENA HD cards worked well not only because of the speed but also because they introduce minimal latency. In a real-time communication system like this, it is important to have as low a latency as possible."

Jim DeRoest, director of streaming media for research for the ResearchChannel, commented, "This demonstration is a precursor to the reality of a wider range of applications including initial use by major research institutions requiring high resolution, real-time resolution for collaborative projects." He continued, "future applications include medicine, simulation, digital cinema and anywhere requiring high fidelity images."